Project overview
A leading pharmaceutical company with rare disease patient websites, faced significant challenges in attracting organic search traffic despite having various traffic sources. The website underperformed in organic search rankings compared to competitors, which prompted a collaboration with Iguazu to enhance its Search Engine Optimization (SEO) strategy.
Why not listen to it instead:
Objectives​
- Improve the website’s technical and on-page SEO.
- Increase the website’s Search Engine Results Page (SERP) rankings.
- Boost organic traffic to foster awareness about our clients rare disease treatments.
Challenges​
Despite ranking for numerous organic keywords, the website’s visibility in search results was low, resulting in insufficient organic traffic. The primary challenges were:
- Low keyword ranking positions, with most not reaching the top 100 for targeted diseases.
- Inadequate technical SEO setup and on-page elements hindering performance.
Iguazu initiated the project by conducting a comprehensive SEO and website performance audit, focusing on identifying quick wins and setting long-term optimisation goals.
The strategic approach not only addressed immediate technical and on-page SEO deficiencies but also laid a robust foundation for content and user experience enhancements. By focusing on both quick wins and sustainable growth, the project successfully improved the site’s performance metrics, visibility, and, ultimately, its ability to serve as a valuable resource for individuals affected by rare diseases.
Quick wins​
- On-page SEO: Enhanced meta information, page quality, structure, and linking. Updated legacy coding to meet Google’s SEO guidelines, such as sequential header tags and image descriptions.
- Technical SEO: Improved page and site load speeds, ensured crawl accessibility, and implemented schema markup to aid Google in recognising relevant pages.
Long-term improvements​
- Content Strategy: Revised the content strategy to target more effective keywords aligned with the client’s needs, ensuring these keywords ranked better than previously underperforming ones.
Results​
Within three months, the SEO enhancements yielded significant improvements:
Website performance:​​
Google Lighthouse scores increased by 27%, from 73 to 93.
Meta information quality:​​
Improved by 122%, enhancing visibility in search results.
Page quality and structure: ​​
Page quality rose by 42%, and structure by 138%, improving user experience and SEO.
Keyword ranking: ​
The website began ranking for 362 new organic keywords, with a 75% increase in keywords ranking in the top 10 SERPs on Google.
Conclusion​
The collaboration with Iguazu on the SEO project for the rare disease website successfully addressed initial deficiencies, resulting in improved search rankings and increased organic traffic.Â
This project not only fulfilled the key performance indicators (KPIs) of driving awareness but also underscored the importance of continuous SEO and content strategy refinement in reaching targeted patient groups more effectively.
About Iguazu: We are a digital agency specialising in delivering tactical marketing solutions to the healthcare and pharmaceutical industry.
Author:
Lynette De Bruine
Senior Project Manager
